The present invention relates to a device for filling with loose material carriers provided on their top with cavities, comprising a transporting member for transporting the carriers; a first scraper member arranged above the transporting member and drivable in rotation round a vertical shaft, which first scraper member is arranged at a distance from the conveyor belt substantially corresponding with the height of the carriers for filling; and a first ring enclosing the path described by the first scraper member.
Such a device is known from the Netherlands patent application number 8902200.
This known device is very satisfactory for filling carriers in a correct manner, usually trays with loose material, mainly culture material in the form of soil, sand or other fibrous or non-fibrous materials suitable for making plants grow.
This known device is rather complicated however; in addition to the transporting member for the trays for transporting, this known device for instance comprises two conveyor belts for transporting the filler material which are each provided with their own drive, so that this known device is comparatively heavy, voluminous and expensive.
The object of the present invention is to provide a device also enabling a good filling of the carriers but the cost of which is considerably lower.
This object is achieved in that on the downstream located side of the first ring first means are arranged for removing excess loose material from the carriers; in that on the upstream located side of the first ring second means are arranged for feeding loose material to the carriers; and in that transporting means are arranged for transporting loose material from the first means to the second means.
As a result of these steps it is possible to obtain a good filling of the carriers using a machine of considerably smaller size and associated lower cost and decreased complexity.
The first means on the downstream located side can be formed by relatively simple means, for instance a fixedly disposed scraper knife or by another device, whereafter the transporting means ensure that the excess filler material is fed to the cavities of the carriers. Transporting means can also take a simple form, for instance a conveyor belt or the like. The second means can be formed by a construction of the conveyor belt such that the filler material coming therefrom is poured onto the carriers.
According to a second embodiment the first and the second means are each formed by a second scraper member adapted for executing a reciprocating movement substantially in the direction transversely of the direction of movement of the transporting means. This provides a good scraping action, while also resulting in a good distribution of the supplied loose material.
According to a third embodiment the first and second means and the second transporting means are formed by a second scraper member adapted to follow a path located outside the first ring, which path is closed off on the outside by a second ring and partly closed off at the underside by a bottom, wherein the second scraper member is rotatably drivable.
This third embodiment is particularly attractive; the construction thereof is very simple so that such a device can be manufactured at low production cost.
According to a fourth embodiment the ring is rotatably mounted, the first scraper member is fixedly connected to the ring and is the ring drivable.
This results in an exceptionally simple, reliable and inexpensive construction.